DETROIT (WXYZ) — Millions of dollars are up for grabs for Detroit small businesses after the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) opened a new multi-billion-dollar round of forgivable loans, also known as PPP2.
Detroit small businesses are encouraged to submit applications before the March 31 deadline.
The loan program aims to help small businesses struggling during the pandemic keep employees on payroll. Already, $647 million in loans have been distributed to 5,412 Detroit-area businesses after the first round of loans went out. This helped save an estimated 58,000 jobs across the city.
Round two of the PPP2 program opens Jan. 11.
"This new round of the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program has millions of dollars available for our small businesses, particularly women- and minority-owned businesses,” said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “This may be the last opportunity to receive this type of significant help from the federal government so business owners should get their application started at detroitmeansbusiness.org."
To further help Detroit small business owners, the city is offering a variety of assistance options through Detroit Means Business. There's also PPP loan application support being provided by a network of trained national MBA students called The MBA Response. Legal experts are also giving consultations through the Michigan Community Resource's Virtual Legal Clinic.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.
Visit our The Rebound Detroit, a place where we are working to help people impacted financially from the coronavirus. We have all the information on everything available to help you through this crisis and how to access it.